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The Journal of Rfalconcam

Archive for June, 2012

We are very happy to announce that after a long two year wait, Rochester finally has a young falcon in the nest box at the top of the Times Square Bldg. Two eggs have not hatched and probably won’t. Since there is only one eyas this year, we’ve decided to have a naming contest. It is open to all our viewers and fans.

Much care and thought was used to name past eyases. We’ve included the criteria we’ve always used when choosing a name. Please read the rules very carefully and use the link below to submit either a male and female name or a gender neutral name.

Deadline is July 6, 2012 at 11:59:59 PM EDT.

Suggested Rfalconcam Naming Criteria Acceptable Categories for Names:

Explorers, Astronomers, Conservationists, especially those with International appeal (e.g., Galileo, Amelia [Earhart], Magellan), or those who have played a significant role in Peregrine repopulation efforts.

Names derived from religious, political, or popular culture icons.
Names directly related to a human person either living or dead, except as noted in the acceptable criteria above.
Names related to a commercial product, or a copyrighted or trademarked name owned by any corporation, individual or organization.
Names that reflect negatively on any group, organization, individual or entity.

Names should be well researched whenever possible. Supporting rationale for the name is required, so give us a few sentences that explain the name and the reason you chose it.

Submitting a Name:

That’s easy! Just click on this link to open the submission form. Only one submission per person please! If multiple submissions are sent in, only the first one will be accepted.

If submitting a name, please do not discuss it here or on the forum. We would like to make this as fair as possible to all participants.

Judging the Name Submissions:

The Rochester Falconcam’s Naming Committee will evaluate all name submissions for appropriateness, including (but not limited to) adherence to the naming criteria; well researched name; uniqueness of the name and how well it follows the “spirit” of past falcon names.

The committee will select the top five male, female and gender neutral names from those submitted and create a poll for members of the Rfalconcam forum to vote for their favorite in each category. You must be a member of the forum to be able to vote for a name. Join the forum now if you’d like to participate!

NOTE: MEMBERS OF THE NAMING COMMITTEE WILL HAVE FINAL EDITORIAL RIGHT OF REFUSAL FOR ALL SUBMISSIONS, AND THEY MAY REJECT ANY NAME SUBMISSION THAT DOES NOT MEET THE NAMING CRITERIA OR IS JUDGED NOT TO BE APPROPRIATE FOR ANY OTHER REASON.

Past Falcon Names that Meet the Criteria Above:

2002

Freedom
Isis – Egyptian goddess, mother of the Falcon god Horus

2003

Isaura – A wind that blows off the Greek Isles
Chayton – A Native American word for Falcon
Destiny
Thlotli – An Aztec name for Falcon
Edge – Named for Rosalie Edge, who founded the Hawk Mountain Sanctuary in Pennsylvania, USA

2004

Alkyonis – Named in honor of the 2004 Olympic games in Greece
Pride
Gahastey – Native American word for a type of wind
Grissom – Named in honor of Virgil “Gus” Grissom, the second American to fly in space
Hafoc – Old English word for Falcon

2005

Esperanza – Spanish word for Hope
Ihteram – Arabic word for Respect
Fulmine – Italian word for Lightning
Aconcagua – A mountain in Argentina, the highest in the Western Hemisphere
Skye – An island in Scotland where falconry is practiced

2006

Aura – Latin word for breeze
Sabrina – Celtic goddess
Rhea Mae – Named for two famous Peregrines that were instrumental in repopulation efforts in the United States

2007

Ananta – A Sanskrit word meaning “infinite” and “endless.” It is one of the many names of Vishnu, the supreme being in the Hindu faith
Linn – Named in honor of Linn Pierson, a naturalist for the New Jersey Dept. of Fish and Wildlife who was an educator and tireless advocate for Peregrine falcons in New Jersey
Sacajawea – In honor of the Shoshone woman who accompanied early American explorers Lewis and Clark on their historic trek through the western United States
Grace – Graces were sister goddesses in Greek mythology who had control over pleasure, charm, elegance and beauty in human life and in nature

2008

Diamante – Spanish for “diamond”.
Quest – Asearchorpursuitmadeinordertofindorobtain something
Seneca – Named after the largest tribe of the Iroquois confederacy of North American Indians
Susan B – Named for the famed Rochester native and Women’s Rights activist
Zephyr – The name given to the West Wind in Greek mythology

2010

Callidora – Gift of Beauty
Jemison – In honor of Mary Jemison, an American frontierswoman and an adopted Seneca

Name submissions will be accepted until 11:59:59 PM EDT on Friday, July 6, 2012.

We’ve all been watching the Rochester Falconcam cameras intently ever since Beauty laid her two eggs. We watched as she pulled them under her, along with an egg that had been laid earlier by Unity and so it began!

This morning, at a little after 6:00 am, while Dot.ca was taking his turn on the eggs, a very small wet eyas won the battle to break free from its egg. Much to Dot.ca’s and all our viewer’s amazement, a young eyas made its way into the world when the egg split in half.

Along with the newly hatched eyas, two eggs remain in the nest box. Hopefully, a sibling will soon join the first one. We do not hold out much hope that Unity and Archer’s egg will hatch.

After a year of tragedy and uncertainty, we have something to celebrate! If all goes well, there will once again be young Peregrine Falcons learning to master the Rochester skies!

We’ve continued to send pictures of Beauty’s foot to Barbara Loucks at the NYS DEC weekly. Here are two pictures that were posted yesterday on the Rfalconcam forum by members Kris G and Ei. They show a side view of the foot, which is what the DEC’s veterinarian had requested.

Barbara shared these new pictures with their veterinarian Dr. Ed Becker who looked at them and here is his response:

“The lateral aspect looks good. Again, there is no significant inflammation or discharge. So what we know about this mass is that it is not painful, not getting worse and appears to be encapsulated. This is all good and raises my comfort level about watchful waiting. We will know over time. Keep me posted.”

A big thank you to Barbara Loucks, NYS DEC and Dr. Ed Becker for continuing to monitor the progress of Beauty’s injury. Also, thanks to RFalconcam Forum members Kris G and Ei for posting the most recent pictures showing the side view of the injury.

My apologies for being so late into the conversation but, I wanted to clear up a few points made back in April when life was very exciting in the falcon world. There were a number of suggestions that another nest box should be put up to attract Dot.ca and Pigott from the downtown nest box or to attract them away from their poor choice of nest sites at the Brighton site. In New York State the Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) decides when and where to put up boxes for endangered species, only in certain circumstances, generally only after a breeding attempt has been made and normally the following season. Putting up more boxes is NOT the solution to territorial battles. In fact, putting up more boxes could worsen the problem. The falcons have a tendency to space themselves. For more information on nest box issues see the 2012 April Conservationist,

In 2008 when the nest box was removed from the Kodak Office Building there were a lot of criteria to take into consideration when choosing sites for the boxes to be placed. The experts from the DEC choose the buildings based on types of buildings used by other urban falcons that they manage. Genesee Valley Audubon Society assisted the DEC in relocating the nest boxes, two were put up to give the falcons a choice. The DEC did not have an opinion on which site the falcons might choose. One of the criteria for a nest box site is little or no conflicts between the falcons and humans. Occasionally the DEC finds that well-meaning people have installed nest boxes in inappropriate places, such as on top of a motel with a roof top bar and balconies. GVAS and the DEC are partners in the rfalconcam.com, while difficult we believe it best to have the patience to let the falcons work it out.